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Phobia
Background A thunderstorm blew over the upscale Long Island home. The sky raged as it seemed to battle the shore. Inside the home, a battle of a different sort raged. Emily Warden tried to make her father see not every superhuman was evil. They were people, some good, some bad. Senator John Warden, her father, wouldn't be disuaded; especially not by his teenaged daughter. Her constant arguing and willful defiance on this issue just proved that metahumans were a disruptive influence on the spiritual and social well-being of the country. Emily tried to keep calm as her father calmly explained the pernicious influence of the flashy, flamboyant superhumans has poisoned her mind. In a moment of unreasoned anger, Emily let slip the one secret she had kept from her family since puberty. She, herself, was a metahuman. Emily saw the shock in her father's eyes, and in that instant, her powers unwillingly lanced out. In that moment, Emily discovered that what her father feared the most was... her! Overcome by grief, Emily fled out into the storm. For years Emily lived on the streets, drifted from city to city. She avoided all contact with her family, and dodged the detectives and agents her father sent after her. Occasionally she tried to help the homeless people who lived on the street with her, but petty theft and panhandling never brought in much money... particularly when one friends suddenly needed intensive medical care. When that happened, Emily finally bowed to the inevitable and scrounged together a makeshift costume and mask. Using her powers intentionally for the first time, robbed a bank. Even had the superhero who arrived to stop her ended curled and quivering on the ground in fear. Apologising, she escaped and brought the money back to the abandoned building she was living in... only to find her friend already dead. It was then that Emily began to grow colder to the people around her. Her grief from being estranged from family, the loss of her friend to something that could have been fixed had they got her to a doctor in time, the constant exposure to the inner demons of those around her had begun to twist Emily Warden into something cold and sadistic. When she was found by Lord Doom, she took his offer immediately. Not to contribute to his grand scheme, but rather to just leave the miserable bums she'd been living with for years. Personality and Motivations Like nearly 75% of all mentalists, Emily is losing her grip on reality and turning inward; away from humanity. The stress she's lived since fleeing her father's house has become a crushing weight on her psyche, and she's no longer able to carry that weight as she used to be. Her powers give great insight into other people's minds, and she has realized no one is free from prejudice and fear. Deep down, she still cares for her fellow man, but is finding it progressively easier to disconnect from her own natural empathetic feelings. She longs to return to her family, but feels she cannot while her father pursues an anti-metahuman agenda. She doesn't hate her father (not yet), but feels his own fears have built an unbreachable wall between the two of them. Quote "Don't be afraid..." Powers and Abilities Phobia can sense and manifest the fears of those around her via a limited form of telepathy. While she can direct a more powerful telepathic probe at an individual, this power is always "on". As a result, Phobia is constantly assailed by the dark thoughts of those around her. Phobia realizes she physically isn't the most impressive fighter, and thus tries to keep out of sight and use her powers to confound her foes. Appearance An athletic-looking woman in her thirties, with short blonde hair and hazel eyes, Phobia doesn't have a formal costume (and Lord Doom hasn't insisted). She normally wears a denim jacket over a t-shirt, which itself is worn over black tights and body armor. In recent years, she's become fond of painting her face white, with black "tears" under her eyes and black lipstick, when going out into the field. Category:Characters Category:Villains Category:American Characters Category:Mentalists Category:American Villains Category:Female Characters Category:Female Villains